Self-serving display device



June 15, 1948. W J. A. GET? 2,443,384

SELF- SERVING DI SPLAY DEV I CE Filed June 7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l I'll v I I INVEN TOR Joseph A. Getz ATTORNEY June 15, 1948. J. A. GETZ SELF-SERVING DISPLAY DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 7, 1,946.

INVENTOR. Joseph A! Get:

ATTORNEY Patented June 15, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SELF-SERVING DISPLAY DEVICE Joseph A. Getz, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application June '7, 1946, Serial No. 675,195

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a canteen display and self-serving mechanism designed for serving large groups of customers during rush hours, such as in the factories, with the troops, subways, and in other busy places. It is particularly adapted for serving lunch where the food being sold is sandwiches, pies, cakes, nicely packaged material and pieces of merchandise.

It is an object f .the present invention to provide a self-serving mechanism in which the numerous foods or articles being sold may be displayed throughout a considerable length of the mechanism yet all of the foods are removed at a point near to and within the immediate control of the cashier located at a fixed station at one end of the mechanism.

It is another object of the invention to utilize both high and low locations within the mechanism for the display of food thereby providing a compact and efiicient mechanism equally accessible to both the customer and the cashier.

According to the invention the mechanism comprises atop, a bottom and four side walls, a cashiers station located at one end of the mechanism removed from a supply door in a side wall opening. Within the front wall, there are vertically spaced elongated window openings and self service hole openings, respectively adjacent belt conveyors in a rack behind the front wall. There are six such conveyors vertically spaced from one another and in the case of all of these conveyors a crank or other propeller means is provided. These cranks are on the end of the conveyor adjacent the cashier whereby the cashier may turn the crank when a new sale has been consummated to advance other foods on thebelt to a point near to the cashier's station and adjacent the hole openings through which the previous food or article had been taken by the customer.

In order that the ends of the bottom conveyor will-be accessible to the operator so that food can be taken from them and readily passed to the customer, if necessary, the front wall has aslot opening depending from the cashier's shelf. If desired, this slot opening can be closed by sliding a. cover structure over the opening. At the cashiers station, there are provided two shelves on one of which is disposed a cash register. In order to save space, the closure structure utilizes its guide or shelving pieces to serve as an extension of the shelving pieces when the closure structure is drawn over the depending slotted opening. On the rear wall of the mechanism shelves are proon the conveyors.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a mate rial part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my canteen display and self-serving mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of my mechanism taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the combined gate and shelving extension for closing off the depending opening in the front wall at times when delivery of the foods through the depending opening is not demanded.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentar view similar to that shown in Fig. 3, but with the closure structure moved to a position over the depending slot.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows thereof.

Referring now to the figures, IE! represents a floor or base on which is supported a front or display wall II, a rear wall I2 and end walls l3 and I4. On the top of these walls is a cover or roof [5. The size of these walls are such as to permit a person to stand within them and walk longitudinally therethrough from one end to the other after having gained access through a door I6 in the end wall [3. Along the front wall and over more than half its length thereof, there stands a rack I! having a plurality of vertically spaced conveyor shelves I8 on which merchandise to be sold is displayed to the customer when looking through elongated windows l9 and self-serving holes or openings 2| adjacent the advancing end of the conveyor. The windows l9 and the holes 2| are all located in the front wall II, and so positioned that the merchandise can be readily observed. Two holes 2| are respectively horizontally lined with each window opening IS. The customer will view the merchandise through the opening I9 and then will take the same from th holes 2i. 7

If only one piece of merchandise is wanted, the customer will take from but one hole; if he desires two pieces he will take from both of the holes, and if he desires more he will request the clerk or cashier stationed in the mechanism to give further operation to the conveyor to advance other pieces. As the supply of pieces becomes depleted on the conveyors, other merchandise is taken from a stationar shelf 22 located on the rear wall ill of the mechanism and placed on the conveyors.

As the piece of merchandise is taken by the customer the cashier of the mechanism will turn any one of the cranks 23 to advance the articles to the openings 2! so as to make the pieces available to the next customer. By such an arrangement a large display of merchandise is held but only a small portion of this merchandise is available to the customer and this small amount is all within arms length of the cashier and at a point whereby the cashier has easily vigilance over the customer. The cashier is located at a station which may be indicated generally at 24. The cashier stands on the floor ill or may sit on a stool. At the station 24 is a cash register 25.

Station 24 includes a top shelf 26 on which the cash register 25 is supported and a shelf 21 spaced below the top shelf 26.

As viewed in Fig. 1. there is a depending slot portion 28 located between the shelf 26 and the rack ll through which articles taken from the lower conveyors by the cashier can be passed to the customer or through which access may be had by the customer to articles on these lower conveyors. The cashier can thereby readily reach all of the ends of the conveyor and need not at any time step in back of the rack to remove the pieces of merchandise therefrom,

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, there will be noted a slidable closure structure 30 at the ends of the shelves 26 and 21 and supported on the shelf 27 which can be moved along to close the depending slot 28 by means of its front piece 3!. This structure has also a vertically extending plate 32 and shelf or guide pieces 33 and 34 projecting rearwardly from the front piece 3|. The structure is supported vertically by the shelf 21. As the structure 30 is moved to the left, as viewed in Fig. 3, the opening 28 is closed and the shelves 26 and Zl are provided with extensions 33 and M. Whether the closure structure is wanted or not will depend upon the cashier.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6 there is also shown the closure structure. In Fig. 5 it will be noted that the closure structure 30 has been moved to the left to close the slot 28. Its guides or shelf 5 extending plate 32 so as to permita sliding m'ove ment of the closure structure. The end of the slot as indicated at 40 serves as a stop for the closure structure when it is moved to the open position.

While hand cranks have been shown as the means for effecting the operation of the conveyors it will be understood that any other means can be used for supplying power to operate the conveyor, electric motors with proper "gear reduction units may be located where the handles are shown and each of these can be controlled by a foot pedal beneath the 'ca'shiers desk, The cashier of the mechanism will thus have within her control full means for selectively advancing the various conveyors.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a novel self serving mechanism for are ing large groups of customers efiectively and efiiciently. f

While I have 'illu'stiated arid assesses the are.

1. In a device of the class described, a wall formed at one end with an opening, vertically spaced shelves mounted on one side of said wall and extended horizontally beneath said opening from a point spaced from one side of said opening to the other side of said opening, vertically spaced horizontal elongated window openings formed in said wall and extended laterally from a point spaced from the said one side of said opening, the topmost elongated window opening being flush with the top of said opening in said wall and the lowermost window opening being below the bottom of said opening in said wall, said wall being formed with a hole at the end of each of said window openings, said holes being located between the said one side of said opening in said wall and the adjacent ends of said window openings, a rack disposed on the said one side of said wall and having a plurality of conveyors one for each of said window openings and its respective hole for displaying articles which may be viewed through said window openings and removed through said holes, and means for advancing said conveyors toward said holes after the articles aligned with the holes have been removed to align new articles with said holes.

2. In a device of the class described, a wall formed at one end with an opening, vertically spaced shelves mounted on one side of said wall and extended horizontally beneath said opening from a point spaced from one side of said open- 111'; to the other side of said opening, vertically spaced horizontal elongated window openings formed in said wall and extended laterally from a point spaced from the said one side of said opening, the topmost elongated window opening being flush With the top of said opening in said wall and the lowermost window opening being below the bottom of said opening in said wall, said wall being formed with a hole at the end of each of said window openings, said holes being located between the said one side of-said opening in said wall and the adjacent ends of said window openings, a rack disposed on the said one side of said wall and having a plurality 'of conveyors one for each of said window openings and its respective hole for displaying articles which may be viewed through said window openings and removedthrough said holes, and means for advancing said conveyors toward said holes after the articles aligned with the holes have been re moved to align new articles with said holes, "said opening of said wall being formed with a downward extension between the ends of said vertically spaced shelves and the said one side of said opening, said downward extension having its bottom flush with the lowermost window opening, said shelves having cutaway corners in their back edges forming vertically aligned spaces between said shelves and said one 'side of said wall, a vertical plate disposed in said vertically aligned spaces, and means slidably supporting said plate to be extendable from said vertically aligned spaces and across said downward extension 0 said opening closing the same.

3. In a device of the class described, a wal formed at one end with an opening, vertically spaced shelves mounted on one side of said Wall and extended horizontally beneath said opening from a point spaced from one side of said opening to the other side of said opening, vertically spaced horizontal elongated window openings formed in said wall and extended laterally from a point spaced from the said one side of said opening, the topmost elongated window opening being flush with the top of said opening in said wall and the lowermost window opening being below the bottom of said opening in said wall, said wall being formed with a hole at the end of each of said window openings, said holes being located between the said one side of said opening in said wall and the adjacent ends of said window openings, a rack disposed on the said one side of said wall and having a plurality of conveyors one for each of said window openings and its respective hole for displaying articles which may be viewed through said window openings and removed through said holes, and means for advancing said conveyors toward said holes after the articles aligned with the holes have been removed to align new articles with said holes, said opening of said wall being formed with a downward extension between the ends of said vertically spaced shelves and the said one side of said opening, said downward extension having'its bottom flush with the lowermost window opening, said shelves having cutaway corners in their back edges forming vertically aligned spaces between said shelves and said one side of said wall, a vertical plate disposed in said vertically aligned spaces, and means slidably supporting said plate to be extendable from said vertically aligned spaces and across said downward extension of said opening closing the same, said slidable supporting means comprising spaced guide pieces attached to said vertical plate and in facial contact with the adjacent faces of said vertically spaced shelves,

4. In a device of the class described, a wall formed at one end with an opening, vertically spaced shelves mounted on one side of said wall and extended horizontally beneath said opening from a point spaced from one side of said opening to the other side of said opening, vertically spaced horizontal elongated window openings formed in said wall and extended laterally from a point spaced from the said one side of said opening, the topmost elongated window opening being flush with the top of said opening in said wall and the lowermost window opening being below the bottom of said opening in said wall, said wall being formed with a pair of horizontally spaced holes at the end of each of said window openings, said pairs of holes being located between the said one side of said opening in said wall and the adjacent ends of said window openings, a rack disposed on the said one side of said wall and having a plurality of conveyors one for each of said window openings and it respective holes for displaying articles which may be viewed through said window openings and removed through either of the pair of holes aligned with the window openings, and means for advancing said conveyors toward said pairs of holes after the articles aligned with the holes have been removed to align new articles with said holes.

JOSEPH A. GETZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,210,721 Stinzing Jan. 2, 1917 1,355,488 McKenney Oct. 12, 1920 1,446,215 Schwartz Feb. 20, 1923 2,096,959 Clerc Oct. 26, 1937 2,234,424 Alley Mar. 11, 1941 2,317,438 Bradley Apr. 27, 1943 

